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Regarding ISP section 230 immunity, has there been any recent court decisions or developments?
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Posted about 1 year ago in Internet
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We are interested in pursuing a case: Hotelier v. TripAdvisor.com, however the big stumbling block is their ability to claim immunity under Section 230 of the CDA. As I understand it, we must prove that TripAdvisor.com is acting as an 'Information Content Provider' in order to exempt them from immunity regarding our suit.
Since, the dominant interpretation of the statute it so long as any third party information content provider is responsible in part for the content's development (even 0.1%), the interactive content service isn't liable for it. This means that the interactive content service could have a great deal of involvement in the content but still avoid liability. Is the law still being read this way??? What's happened to us is that Tripadvisor.com has allowed a member to post defaming content about the resort's owner. In the past, i.e. a year or so ago, we would show Tripadvisor.com how a review has violated their guidelines and they would take it down. However something has changed regarding their protocols for removing inappropriate reviews and they refuse to take down this obviously inappropriate review. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. Answers (2)
Craig Edward Kennedy
This attorney is licensed in Washington.
Posted about 1 year ago.
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I know this is going to hit very close to home here...but Avvo was just recently sued in the United States District Court in Seattle for very similar issues that you have just raised. A local Seattle attorney [and some others] filed a lawsuit against Avvo about the content/reviews of attorney's performance and Avvo's 'rating system'. The plaintiffs lost and Avvo is still up and running!
The Federal Judge essentially stated that Avvo was protected by the First Amendment as most these on-line comments are little more than opinions and that most viewers on the internet took that into consideration... You may want to talk to the Avvo folks here and consult! Bob
Posted about 1 year ago.
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In general the courts seem to interpret this section very broadly. The Rating and Review Professional Association tracks court cases involving online review sites, and the history is strongly on the side of the rating sites.
You can find good general background info about this on wikipedia, or at rarpa.org |
